Fanfiction Writing Class
by LovelyPseudonym
Summary: A class is held at Generic University about tips on writing fanfiction. Each chapter is another day dedicated to something new, varying from how to write a summary, Mary Sues, new ways to reinvent cliches, OCs, how to find a beta, and so much more!
1. Introduction

It was an old classroom with scuffed white walls and well-used desks covered in graffiti. Even the teacher's computer was an old clunky thing that looked like it had less processing power than the average smart phone. The newest thing in the room was the projector on the ceiling pointed at a screen in the front of the room.

Slowly people started to trickle in, but ten minutes later only half the desks were filled. It was silent as everyone tried to look at each other without being caught staring. Just as some of them began to quietly introduce themselves, the harsh clack of high heels coming down the hallway cut them off.

A young black woman wearing a pantsuit walked in, shutting the door behind her before briskly walking to the front of the room, her dreadlocks swinging with each step. She briefly leaned down over the teacher's desk to log on to the computer before standing up straight and looking over the class. Multi-colored eyes and hair gleamed back at her.

The woman offered them a small smile and moved out from behind the desk to stand more fully in front of the class. "My name is Juliet Cooper and I'm your teacher for this class. No need to be too formal, just Juliet is fine. As you probably know since you signed up for this class, this isn't taught by a real teacher, just a volunteer, so I'm pretty new to this. Any suggestions or comments would be really helpful so just shoot me a review or PM and I'll take it into consideration.

"So let's start with what's going to happen in this class. Truthfully, nothing is very planned out, I just have a list of topics that I'll make my way through and talk about when I have inspiration. I'm not going to have everything organized as a 'don't do that, do this.' Sometimes I'll might talk in circles, but I'll eventually get everything out that I have to say about a subject. I would like to mention I'm always open to other suggestions and alternatives for the things I say. I'm not perfect and I don't know everything, so I can be wrong. There is always more to learn, but I'm trying my best. I also have trouble following my own advice sometimes, but I'm sure you'll see that soon enough." A few students smiled slightly.

Taking a deep breath, Juliet continued, "There will be swearing in this class, and we will be talking about sensitive topics at times. There will be a warning at the top of every chapter containing a sensitive topic so those who wish to can skip it. At the bottom of this chapter there will be a guide for what chapters are up and what they're about so you can go straight to the ones that interest you. The list will be updated every time a new chapter comes out. I think that covers mostly everything, but are there any questions?"

A girl with unnaturally bright green eyes and red hair flung her hand up. Juliet motioned toward her, "What's your name and question?"

"I'm Rose. I wanted to know if you were going to make fun of people who write bad fanfiction." She asked quickly.

"That's a really good question," Juliet said. "The answer is I'm going to try to avoid making fun of anyone, or insulting anyone. I might sound rude at times, but I'm not mean-spirited. Have you ever thought of the fact that fanfiction has millions of people reading and writing, not for money or because of school or their job, but because they want to? Everyone starts out writing badly, you should see some of my early pieces, but everyone is also constantly improving. Even things that everyone hates on like self-inserts and Mary Sues have their worth, they tell the writer things about themselves like what they value as important and who they wish they could be. I don't really think there is such a thing as "bad fanfiction" unless you're purposely trying for it, because every piece of "bad fanfiction" you write helps you improve and become more self-aware. So I want to try and be as respectful as possible."

Rose mumbled a thank-you and Juliet waited a moment for other questions. It was silent, so she moved back to the computer. In less than a minute she had the projector on and a Word Document up on the screen showing:

**Chapter One: Introduction— **_Just a basic overview of what is going on. Contains list of chapters._

**Chapter Two: Titles and Summaries—**_Why titles and summaries are important, some tips on how to write them, and some things you should never include._

**Chapter Three: Reviews— **_How to give really good reviews, how to give constructive criticism, how to deal with flames, how to respond to reviews in your fanfiction, what not to put in reviews._

"Well, I think that's all for now. I hope to see you all next time." She dismissed the class.


	2. Titles and Summaries

Students walking in the door were greeted by Juliet sitting on the front of her desk, a PowerPoint already projecting on the screen reading **Titles and Summaries**. As everyone sat down in desks, a few students fiddled around with the papers that were on every desk.

"Hello everyone, and welcome back to Fanfiction Writing Class. I'm sure you've all noticed the blank paper, and I'd like you to fold a piece in half, write you name on it and set it upright at the front of your desks so I can know all your names. I'll give you a minute to do this now." There was a mad scrambling for pens and pencils and Juliet shut her eyes with a soft groan. It took much longer than it should have for everything to settle down and she opened her eyes to see a few of the students scowling with messed up hair and clothes. "You know what? I don't think I want to know," Juliet said lowly to herself.

"Moving on! Can someone tell me what it is that helps you find a fanfiction and helps you decide whether to read it or not?" Silence. "No one?" She looked around and no one would meet her eyes. Zeroing in on one boy who glanced up at the PowerPoint on the screen she read his name tag. "Hunter, can you tell me what the screen says?"

"Titles and summaries." He said.

"Thank you, the answer is titles and summaries," She repeated louder so the whole class could hear. Several students started scribbling down notes. "Now I don't know about you, but I don't just click on any story and start reading, I look for things that interest me, and to find that I look at the title and summary. A lot of writers seem to think they can come up with a good title or summary right on the spot as they start posting, because after all, it's a very small bit of writing. I would like to say that is false. Because there is so little writing involved, you need to really think about what you include. This is your first impression and if you don't put effort into it, you'll lose readers. You want something interesting that makes people actually want to read your story."

Juliet clicked a button on her remote and the PowerPoint went to the next slide which had a few key points bulleted. "Titles need to be given some thought. What genre is your fanfiction? You don't want a cutesy title if your story is bleeding out enough angst to make an emo boy band look well-adjusted. On the other side, stay away from too serious titles if your fic is a bit of fluff and cuddle. Just try not to be misleading.

"Honestly, the title doesn't have to be perfect, and you don't have to absolutely love it. You just don't want to change is a dozen times throughout the story and confuse the crap out of your readers. My suggestion is to have an idea of what your fanfiction is about and where it is going, and then write a list of words that you associate with it. Then you can play around with those words, combine them however you like and you might get something you think fits. Or you can go the literal way and just state what the fic is, like 'Fanfiction Writing Class.' It's not pretty but it gets the job done, no false assumptions. If you're lucky, you might even come up with a title that's memorable."

She clicked to the next slide and an example of a summary was shown.

_A class at genric uni. about writting fanfics. each chapter is about a different and reveiw!NO FLAMES!1!_

Juliet waited until everyone had read the summary before continuing. "Let's go over what's wrong here and how this can apply to your summaries. First things first, the spelling, or more accurately the lack of spelling. It is important to always use spellcheck, and try to reread what you wrote again the next day. Sometimes if you reread something right after you wrote it, you read it how you meant it to be written instead of how it is actually written, so waiting a while before going over it again is a very important step. Make sure that everything is capitalized that needs to be, like the beginning of a sentence and the names of people and places. Pay attention to the spaces between old and new sentences, and don't use more than one exclamation point. It aggravates the majority of potential readers if there is a '1' in with the '!' so don't ever do that either. You aren't ten anymore, you don't have a free pass to do that.

"I often see summaries with the phrases 'first fic' 'please read' 'not very good at summaries' 'don't like, don't read' and 'not very good'. I know that when these things are added it's usually the writer trying to protect themselves from hurt due to low self-esteem, but honestly it harms more than it helps. 'First fic' turns away readers because you pretty much just told them that you're inexperienced. It then attracts people who attack beginners and bully them. 'Please read' makes it sound like you need to beg people into reading your story because it's so bad. If you're 'not very good at summaries' then how are people to know if you are any better at stories? It also makes it sound like you just gave up and shrugged your shoulders at the fact that your summary isn't that good. 'Don't like, don't read' might sound logical to those using it, but it actually sounds like you can't accept that people might not like something you wrote. And generally people aren't going to read things they don't like anyway, unless they're trolls. If you outright tell us it's 'not very good' people will take you at your word and not bother checking it out. All of these phrases are a waste of your character limit!" Clicking the remote, a new summary showed up underneath the flawed one.

_A class is held at Generic University about tips on writing fanfiction. Each chapter is another day dedicated to something new, varying from how to write a summary, Mary Sues, new ways to reinvent clichés, OCs, how to find a beta, and so much more!_

"Please note the correct spellings and capitalizations. There are no words mushed together, excess exclamation points, or phrases warning you away. I've also included more on what you can find inside, and a few words that will help more people find me. What I mean by words that will help people find me, I mean that when you know you like a certain kind of story, you tend to use the search bar. So if you want more people to read your story, think about what words you would use to find similar fanfiction and try to incorporate that into your summary so it will show up in a search. Before we move on, I would like to make sure you all know that my summary is by no means perfect, but it gets my point across." Juliet waited until she saw a few heads nod before she clicked to the next slide.

"Because this story doesn't have a real plot, romances, any twists or whatever else you can put in an average fanfiction, the summary isn't a good example for everything. I'm going to use Harry Potter as an example because of how big that fandom is. Let's say that in this made-up fic Harry trusts someone absolutely and they never give any doubt to their loyalties. So in the summary you don't give away the huge plot twist where it comes out they're working for Voldemort! Or maybe if you had a story where two characters are competing to date Harry, and the whole plot is about who he chooses, you don't put the end pairing in the summary because that gives it all away and takes the fun out of not knowing. For another story, if you write a summary about how Harry is rescued from the Dursleys, sorted into Ravenclaw, cures lycanthropy, kills Voldemort with the help of the spiders and marries the giant squid, no one will care about reading it because you just gave away the entire plot. I don't care how well written and dramatic it is if I know exactly how it'll turn out. Don't give away everything in the summary!"

She sighed. "Here's my biggest pet peeve. Questions like 'who will they choose?' or 'what will happen?' in the summary are the most irritating thing. This doesn't make your story intriguing. It's the same thing we see in every other story, nothing special. And since the reader didn't come up with the question themselves while reading your description, they aren't that invested in the answer. You can make your summaries a bit mysterious if you _really_ want to, but be careful not to make it so vague that no one knows what's going on either.

"So overall, watch your spelling and grammar. Don't put down your writing abilities. Use words that make you easier to search. Don't give away too much, but you still need to give us something substantial. How about just state who the main character is, what the conflict is, and where and when this is happening. Keep it clear and concise."

A girl with black and blue streaked hair raised her hand. "What about point of view? Is it okay to do first person in a summary?"

"Please wait until I call on you before asking your question Sapphire," Juliet said firmly. "But about point of view… Well, I would strongly suggest to use third person. In first person it's difficult to give a good idea of who you are and what's going on without it sounding silly. But if you feel you absolutely have to do it in first person, just go for it." Sapphire nodded. "That actually reminds me of something else people do in summaries, using excerpts from your fanfiction. I'm not an expert on this, so I can't talk much about doing it, but I feel the need to mention I've very rarely seen it done well. It doesn't carry much information on what's going on in the story, but it can be suspenseful in some cases. I would like to say don't do it unless you know what you're doing, but that won't stop people. I'll just say try to use a cliffhanger and don't use any filler."

The loud sound of a zipper interrupted what Juliet was going to say next and directed everyone's gaze to the back of the class. A girl in the process of stuffing her notebook into her backpack froze, her face turning red. "Umm—ah, I mean, I need to leave for an appointment!" She squeaked.

Juliet laughed. "It's fine, it's time to leave anyway. I'll see you all next time." She waved as everyone packed up and left.


	3. Reviews

The classroom slowly filled with students. There were a few more people than last class, but not many. Everyone put out their name tags, a few helpful people telling the new students to make one. The classroom filled with idle chatter as everyone was a bit more familiar with each other and not feeling as shy. Quite a few of them were surprised at how alike they were.

Juliet was greeted by several students when she walked in. She smiled back at all of them. Not much time later, a new PowerPoint was on the screen: **Reviews.**

A teenager whose nametag read 'Star' raised her hand immediately after reading the topic, so Juliet called on her to speak. "What do reviews have to do with writing fanfiction? Aren't they something you get _after_ writing?"

"Yes, but _while_ you're writing I'm sure you're also reading other fanfictions and leaving reviews there. Not to mention you get reviews between the chapters you post, and there are different ways that writers deal with that. I strongly feel the need to go over some things." Juliet clicked the remote for the next PowerPoint slide. It said:

_Great fic. Can't wait until next chapter!_

"I don't see anything wrong with that!" Star protested.

"I never said anything was wrong with it. You didn't let me get to my point." Juliet tried to hide the irritation in her voice. "This is a nice review. Very common too, you'll see this on nearly every fanfiction. It's something that anyone can toss out to a story the like without thinking much about it. I do it all the time. But what if you want to go an extra step to make your review special?" Juliet clicked the remote again and another review slid out underneath the first.

_I love this fic. My favorite part in this chapter was when Sakura had food spilled on her. I grinned like crazy when I read all those puns. I definitely need to try and remember some of those!_

"So can anyone tell me how this is different from the other review?" She asked.

"It's longer?" Someone from the back of the room guessed. There was a scattering of laughter.

Juliet let out a chuckle. "Yes. It's longer. But it's also more personalized. The writer who receives this review knows it isn't something that can be copy and pasted for any story, and they know which part of the fanfiction people are liking. All you need to do is think for a second about what in particular you liked about the chapter, and mention it. You can also mention what you like overall about the story. Whatever you think is working for the author. Or," she clicked the remote, "you can also tell the writer what isn't working." The new slide said:

_I really like this fic, and you usually make me smile, but I find it hard to believe that everyone would laugh at Sakura having soup spilled all over her. Wouldn't her friends at least try to see if she was okay before joking about it? Soup can be really hot!_

"Constructive criticism is something a lot of people have trouble giving, and even more people have trouble taking. It doesn't necessarily need to be about big issues like gaping plot holes or impossible to read spelling, it can be about anything that might improve a scene. Keeping people in character, more realistic reactions, possible repercussions to actions, how first aid actually works, or really whatever you can think of that you think the writer should consider. Sometimes when someone is trying to give criticism they might say something like, 'nobody's acting in character, you need to work on that! And there's a lot of spelling errors!' Instead of just that, you should tell them how you think a character would react in that situation and remind them to reread their stories or try a beta. Always try to tell the author exactly where it was you saw the problem, and then try to give them an alternative just in case they have trouble coming up with one on their own. Notice how in the example up there, the reviewer points out where they didn't agree with the fic, and then suggested the idea of her friends checking on her before joking about it.

"Now when you first start posting fanfiction, a review like this could really hurt. You might feel like someone is saying you aren't good enough. What it's really saying is that there is something that you could improve on. Of course reviews can be wrong and you don't have to listen them. If you read over a scene again and decide it's exactly how you want it, feel free to ignore whatever a review said." The next slide came up with a list of reviews. The background was a picture of a fire. "What you don't want is a flame."

_You suck. This fic should be deleted._

_This story is shit, I can't believe I wasted my time reading this._

_Stop writing. You can't write at all, so just stop trying._

_I couldn't read your spelling. Go back to school you retard._

_You must be an idiot if you think any of the characters would act like this. _

_This is disgusting. Just go fucking die already._

Juliet let the class sit in silence for a minute. "Flames are when people, usually trolls, review a fanfiction just to tell the writer how terrible they find them. They are cruel, and you should _never_ send something like this to someone, _even_ if it is the _worst_ story you ever read." She glared at her students. "These don't help anyone, they only harm. Receiving one of these without being prepared has actually caused many people to abandon their stories. Other writers will post a rant about the flame instead of a new chapter. Nearly no one reacts positively to this. Flames are just terrible, however you look at them."

Juliet nodded to a blonde girl named Willow raising her hand. "Don't some people misinterpret constructive criticism as flames?"

"Yes, but as long as you read the review carefully and think about it, you should be able to tell the difference. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment. If the review points out anything to be improved, it's usually criticism. If it insults you or your fanfiction and doesn't give you anything helpful, it's a flame and should be promptly ignored. Sadly, ignoring it is the only thing you can really do. You can block their account and delete their comments, but it's hard to get rid of them completely. Don't let them have the satisfaction of your reaction."

Juliet went to the computer and minimized the PowerPoint. She pulled up three bookmarked pages of fanfiction. Settling on the first fanfiction, she looked up at the class and asked, "How long does this chapter look to you?"

Rose was the first person to raise her hand. Looking at the side bar, she guessed about ten pages. A few other people agreed with her. Juliet hit page down on the keyboard four times before she hit a huge author's note and some replies to reviews. She went down another five pages before hitting the bottom of the chapter. The class was quiet, already seeing where this was going. Juliet went to the second fanfiction she opened, and this time the review replies were at the top of the chapter. The third fanfiction was the smallest of the three, but it also had less than a page of actual fanfiction, the rest replies to reviews and the author's ramblings.

"Can someone tell me the problem with this? Jenna, what do you think?" She asked.

Jenna took a moment to think. "They're tricking readers about how long their chapters really are. If you got an email alert with a really high word count it wouldn't be because of the story, and if you were looking at the side bar you would think you had a lot more to read than you actually do."

Juliet nodded. "That's pretty much it. If you saw a 50,000 word fanfiction, and it turned out that something like 15,000 of those words were dedicated to thanking reviews, you probably aren't too happy. It takes up time and space, and for what? So you can thank every single reviewer for liking your story and complement them on their username? Just please don't do this."

"What if someone asks a question?" Jenna asked.

"If someone asks a question and they don't have an account with PMs enabled, you can answer them in a chapter. But think about if their question is something worth answering. If it's not related to your fanfiction, you can probably ignore it. If it's something silly like a character's favorite color, it's not that important. If you plan on telling them that answering their question would reveal future plot twists, it'd be better to just ignore them so you don't give away any hints. I'd try to avoid answering more than five reviews every chapter, unless it's urgent. And if you feel some inexplicable need to thank all your reviewers, just list them all in a paragraph so it doesn't take up so much space. Although you might want to switch to just thanking your reviewers in general and not in a list if the paragraph gets more than half a page in length."

Juliet's watch beeped and she twitched. She logged off the computer and waited for it to shut down as the students took this as their cue to start getting ready to leave. "Hold on for a second, let me just say a few more things. When you're reviewing other fanfictions there's a few things you shouldn't say because of how useless they are. Don't tell them this chapter wasn't as good as their last chapter for no reason. Don't compare their story to someone else's story. Don't tell them their story is okay, but nothing great. Don't correct information in older stories that was only revealed in canon after the story was written. Don't promote your favorite pairing unless specifically asked. Don't tell them where to go with their plot unless asked. And remember to never flame someone. Alright, I think that's it. You can go now."


End file.
